The trickery of magicians is to keep you paying attention to one area, object or motion while creating an illusion in another place.
When he's done – voila! It's magic and you believe it.
What's going on now in Washington isn't magic but the concept is the same.
While Barack Obama and the diehard, progressive Democrats are hanging tight on Obamacare – i.e. not changing Obama's baby, it's perfect as it is – the country is swinging in the wind as the government shuts down and the country faces default.
Americans are caught in the middle of a government power play on a scale not seen here before and one that has serious consequences for our future.
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Republican, libertarian and tea-party politicians find themselves whiplashed on how to deal with the Svengali in the Oval Office.
Push back too hard and be labeled racist and uncaring for the poor and sick.
Cave in and be labeled turncoat by supporters.
The major game that's going on is part of Obama's act. He's the illusionist, making something appear to be something it isn't. He tries to convince us that something is happening, but it really isn't.
A magician has "patter" – his running commentary while he is doing his tricks.
That's Obama, running around the country with his teleprompter, talking to partisan groups, telling them what they want to hear, all the while avoiding any meeting with the opposition to try to resolve the political differences.
He threatens, accuses and insults and then declines to talk, but the government closure shows his deviousness.
"Shut down the government," yes, but do it selectively so that the greatest number of people will be hurt, all the while, leaving the magician in chief to ignore it all, pretending he's not responsible – it's those vindictive, selfish Republicans.
To call Barack Obama a "Svengali" is not too far fetched: a person who wants to dominate, manipulate and control in order to get people to do what he wants.
So what happens? Government closes. To the average person, that means nothing – but suddenly, venues government controls are closed to the public.
Such as? National parks, monuments and cemeteries, all government land, buildings, waterways and even areas of open ocean.
Fishermen and fishing guides are forbidden to sail into open water and fish because it's an area "controlled" by the feds.
The Statue of Liberty – and 30 other New York sites – closed to the public.
The Grand Canyon and all National Parks closed; campers and hikers forced out.
Flood damaged roads in Colorado can't be repaired because access to them is on "federal land."
Beaches, restaurants, hotels, tourist areas – anything with even a touch of federal involvement are shut to the public.
In Washington, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial and the World War II Memorial are all yellow-taped, off limits – with guards enforcing it – even though they're in areas of open access.
It's the ultimate stupidity and example of vindictiveness using law enforcement to stop access by visitors to see monuments normally open to the public.
It was shameful to see armed guards deny veterans access to memorials to the wars they fought in.
The insult was made worse by the government allowing a rally for illegal aliens to be held while veterans were held at bay.
The reality is that it cost more to enforce the closures than if they'd left them open as usual.
It was an act of simple meanness.
In South Dakota, people were prevented from stopping along a public road simply to look at Mt. Rushmore.
Is Obama serious?
Yes.
Does he admit his policy decisions are behind such nonsense?
No.
Just like any illusionist, he doesn't acknowledge responsibility for the result of the act? After all, it's "magic."
A park ranger, understandably preferring to remain anonymous, told a reporter that they were instructed "to make things as uncomfortable for people as possible" and he is disgusted by it all.
He's not the only one.
There are lessons to be learned.
One deals with the size, growth and power of centralized government, meaning it's in charge of everything.
The second deals with Barack Obama.
The scope of a shutdown of anything owned, controlled or managed by the federal government at the whim of a president, shows just how close we are to tyranny.
The federal government owns 650-million acres in this country – nearly 30 percent of all territory.
And 84.5 percent of Nevada is government owned; Alaska, 69.1 percent, Utah 57.4 percent; and the next seven states are Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, California, Wyoming, New Mexico and Colorado.
States with the least government ownership are mainly in the East and Midwest – Connecticut and Rhode Island each at 0.4 percent.
No. 10 on the "least list" is Illinois at 1.8 percent.
Government land is used for military operations, Indian reservations, parks and national monuments.
Some land is leased for logging, mining, agriculture and tourism with some private holdings.
We're told this land is held and maintained for all Americans, except, I guess, when the president decides to shut it down so Americans feel the pain.
But thousands of foreign tourists here were also caught by the closure of tourist attractions and in France, thousands of visitors to the American Cemetery at Normandy were turned away.
The bodies of 9,387 Americans are buried there, and people who want to visit and pay tribute are locked out
Obama said nothing, but a tyrant doesn't explain; his henchmen do the dirty work.
Barack Obama is daring freedom-loving Americans to stop him.
Do we have the courage to do it?
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